David Holland

Principal Viola

David Holland is retired from thirty nine years as the Resident Violist at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, as well as  coordinator of String Chamber Music and conductor of the String Orchestra.   He also served as viola faculty of Central Michigan University and  the University of Michigan.  Until the Fall of 2013, Mr. Holland performed as principal viola for  both the Midland Symphony and  the Traverse Symphony Orchestra. He was formerly the Duluth Symphony’s principal violist and conductor of the Duluth Youth Orchestra.  Mr. Holland is an active chamber musician,  was a member of the Aurora String Quintet,  and has collaborated with the New World String Quartet and the Stradivari Quartet.  His guest conducting and clinician appointments have taken him to many areas of the United States and to South America, including The National Youth Orchestras of Costa Rica and Columbia. Guest conducting has been also to all county, district, regional, state and tri-state Honors Orchestras in twenty five states.   He  served as Music Director and Conductor of the Traverse Symphony Orchestra and Traverse Youth Symphony.

The Juilliard School, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the University of Michigan, Eastman School of Music,  Arizona State University, the University of Colorado, the University of Iowa School of Music, the University of Alabama and the Hartt School of Music are among the prominent schools that have  hosted him as a guest presenter of viola master classes.   Mr. Holland acted as visiting viola instructor for the University of Iowa and Louisiana State University.  Just as plentiful are his summer musical engagements, which have taken place at many festivals around the country.  Most recently, David was on the faculty of the North American Viola Institute, the Interlochen  Viola Institute,  the Interlochen Arts Camp and was a guest artist at Perlman Music Program.  Other festivals included  many years at the Quartet Program and  long time Director of the Ithaca Chamber Music Festival.  

Mr. Holland plays an 18 ½” Altus, made in the 1880’s for the Bayreuth Opera  Festival during Wagner’s life.  It was designed by Wagner’s principal violist, Hermann Ritter.  The instrument was made by H. Horlein.